Councilmember McGowan moved to approve the agenda. Second by Vice Mayor Barsky. Motion passed.

CITIZENS COMMENTS (7:32pm)

Jurgen Pape, 403 East Broadway, commented about the tree trimming along State Route 37. He expressed deep concern that everything was being clear cut. The program was devastating all of the vegetation along and in the right-of-way. ODOT would be causing problems using this clear cut method including erosion. Mr. Pape wondered if ODOT would move into the Village and use the same methods. He questioned what ODOT’s rights were within the Village. The Village should determine and question how ODOT intended to proceed should they enter the Village.

As no one else appeared to speak, Mayor Hartfield closed Citizen Comments at 7:37pm.

PUBLIC HEARING

Ordinance No. 03-2014, An Ordinance Granting Approval to Purchase the Development Rights for an Easement of 13.6 Acres to the Granville Golf Course Located at 555 Newark-Granville Road

Laura Jones, 216 Sunrise Street, indicated that she was not aware of all of the particulars of this issue, but supported the protection of the golf course. It was a good initiative to save open space.

David James, 615 West Broadway, questioned the language in Section 2 of the ordinance that required the golf course to remain a public course or open space. He would prefer a private, member-only course as it would allow the course to be more financially viable. The course could be member-only, but allow the public to still be permitted access to the course – a semi-private concept. Language could be added to the ordinance to include the option for a new owner to make the club member-only with public access. The existing language could be a deterrent for someone interested in purchasing the golf course at a later date.

Law Director King indicated that the requirement was included as public funds were being used to purchase the golf course. This language was intended to insure that residents always had access to the course and/or property.

As no one else appeared to speak, Mayor Hartfield closed the Public Hearing at 7:41pm.

OLD BUSINESS

Ordinance No. 03-2014, An Ordinance Granting Approval to Purchase the Development Rights for an Easement of 13.6 Acres to the Granville Golf Course Located at 555 Newark-Granville Road was introduced and a public hearing date recommended for April 2, 2014 by Vice Mayor Barsky. Second by Councilmember McGowan.

Discussion:

Councilmember O’Keefe asked about the difference in a private golf course versus a public golf course in relationship to this easement. Law Director King indicated that the current course was a public golf course owned privately. A private golf course restricts users to a member only basis with membership fees assessed annually. The current easement language would require the course to be maintained in its present condition. The easement could be renegotiated at a later date if the negotiation would be beneficial to all parties. Law Director King added that a membership only course would not be in the best interest of the community. The purchase of the easement and maintaining the course as a public entity would be the best use of public funds.

Councilmember Johnson responded that Council’s intent from the beginning was to maintain the course as public especially with the use of public funds to purchase the easement.

Councilmember McGowan stated that the current owners wished to maintain a public golf course.

Councilmember Jonson made a motion to approve the March19, 2013 minutes. Second by Councilmember McGowan. Motion carried.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Granville Foundation – (Montgomery)

No report.

Granville Recreation District – (McGowan)

No report

Planning Commission – (Johnson)

Councilmember Johnson reported that the Planning Commission did not meet since the last Council meeting.

Open Space Committee (O’Keefe)

No report

Tree & Landscape Commission – (Lerner)

No report.

Union Cemetery – (Barsky)

Vice Mayor Barsky reported that the Union Cemetery Board would be meeting on Wednesday, April 9th at 8:00am in Village Hall.

OTHER COUNCIL MATTERS

Clerk Prasher provided Council with copies of the First Impression’s report from Oberlin and a PowerPoint presentation. The report indicated that the Village gave an excellent first impression. The Oberlin team complimented the Village on the friendliness of residents, merchants, Chamber and Village staff. The Village was clean, signed well and provided a welcoming feel. There were a few items that could be fixed or considered as improvements. This report will be share with the Granville Exempted Village School District, Denison University and the Granville Recreation District. Mayor Hartfield suggested that the report be placed on the Village website.

Clerk Prasher also provided Council with a brief overview of the Blackboard Connect emergency notification system, showing Council how the system worked.

Councilmember Johnson asked if there was a status update about narrowing the Village median on West Broadway. Manager Stilwell indicated that staff provided Council with the costs for those changes. The response was not actively in favor of reducing the size of the median. The project costs were high. Staff would work to improve the apron areas as part of the upcoming paving project. The ability of agricultural vehicles to pass through that area must be balanced against the needs of the Village.

Councilmember Montgomery asked if there would be any significant changes to the flood maps as a result of the new FEMA maps. Manager Stilwell indicated that the maps Planner Terry shared with Council during the previous meetings were the updated maps. Village staff worked to calibrate what the water levels meant by physically marking high water identifiers during the last high water event. Councilmember O’Keefe asked if the Village would need to make any determinations to the flood plain code. Vice Mayor Barsky responded that the code would not need to be changed as the Village code was already more stringent than the current FEMA guidelines.

Councilmember McGowan asked that Village staff enforce that all café seating stay within the designated zones. He suggested that each area be marked, possibly with spray paint, to help business owners stay within the café area.

Councilmembers expressed serious concerns regarding the tree removal by ODOT on State Route 37. What was happening was not tree removal, but clear cutting. Council directed Manager Stilwell to contact ODOT and ask for an explanation as to why all trees and vegetation was being removed. Mayor Hartfield asked staff to determine if ODOT would be coming into the Village and, if so, could they be stopped. Vice Mayor Barsky asked that staff request data that demonstrated the need to cut trees and landscape back so drastically. There were serious issues that could result such as erosion because of these actions.

Councilmember O’Keefe asked if the water connection valves between the Village of Granville and the City of Newark were flushed or cleaned on a regular basis. It would be important that these connections work when and if the need came to pass. Manager Stilwell indicated that such flushing could cause a disturbance in the system for Village residents. However, he would discuss the issue with staff and determine if a test could be done with limited disruption.

OTHER STAFF MATTERS

Manager Stilwell advised Council that of the recent boil alert in a portion of the Bryn Du Woods subdivision.

The Village would be hosting the Ride 2 Recovery on May 24th. This event would not be as large as the Pelotonia and would be using an alternate course – College Street. Staff was still working to balance the request for events in the Village with the needs and concerns of residents and business owners.

The Village would again be working with Big O to promote resident’s ability to discard unwanted items throughout the year rather than just during the former clean-up / fix-up weeks. Staff has provided the newspaper and emails residents reminding them of the new clean-up procedure.

ADJOURNMENT (8:39pm)

Councilmember McGowan made a motion to adjourn. Second by Vice Mayor Barsky. Motion carried.